Since the US-led invasion in 2003 more than 4,300 coalition soldiers have died - over 4,000 of them Americans.

A study released in 2008 by the RAND Corp. estimates that 300,000 U.S. troops are suffering from depression or post-traumatic stress.

But it is unclear how many Iraqi lives have been lost. The Iraqi government does not keep precise records. Health ministry estimates in November 2006 ranged from 100,000 to 150,000 dead.

This contrasts sharply with a survey of Iraqi households in the Lancet, which suggested about 655,000 Iraqis had died in the war by July 2006.
(The Lancet is a weekly subscription journal publishing mostly medical and scientific research material. In other conflicts the Lancet's methodology has been regarded as the most reliable).

A survey published by a UK-based polling agency Opinion Research Business in September 2007 suggested up to 1.2 Million people might have died because of the conflict.